Hiding
by Horsetamer5
Summary: How Gavroche and the Amis survived the battle at the barricade.
1. Chapter 1

For the first time in his short life, Gavroche was terrified. Usually he was a brave kid, always rushing headlong into danger, never thinking of the consequences. But now, hiding in a dark underground bunker with the rest of the Amis and listening to the footsteps of the National Guardsmen marching above them, Gavroche was terrified. Whimpering, he pressed himself closer to Courfeyrac, clinging to the older man as if he were a lifeline.

Courfeyrac gently pressed a kiss to the boy's head and rubbed a hand down his back.

"It's alright, Gavroche" he murmured, trying to quiet the boy who was now sobbing quietly. "They will be gone soon, we will get to go home, I promise. For now, let's try and get some sleep. When you wake up, it will all be ok."

Noticing his friend's exhaustion, Enjorlas got up from his place guarding the door and walked over to the two.

"Let me take him for a bit, Courfeyrac; you need to rest and I doubt Gavroche is going to sleep in here. I will be on guard for the rest of the night, so I can watch him for a while."

"Alright," Courfeyrac agreed, reaching down to detach the child's hold on him.

"Gavroche, I need you to let go. You are going to go with Enjorlas for a little while, alright?"

"No!" the twelve-year-old whimpered, "I wanna stay with you!"

"Gavroche," Enjorlas said kneeling down and placing a hand on the child's back; "Courfeyrac needs to sleep, he has fought all day and he is really tired. I promise, I won't let anything happen to you."

After a tense silence, Gavroche loosened his death grip on Courfeyrac and allowed Enjorlas to take him in his arms.

" 'night Courf." Gavroche said, giving his friend one last hug before moving to sit with Enjorlas.

Enjorlas sat on guard near the door of the bunker, listening to the quiet breathing of the sleeping boy beside him. It had taken nearly two hours but he had finally gotten Gavroche to sleep.

A sudden thud above them caused Gavroche to startle awake and try to scramble back to Courfeyrac. Enjorlas grabbed the boy and cradled him against his chest.

"Shh," Enjorlas murmured as the child's body trembled with harsh, ragged sobs. "I know you're scared, but it is all going to be alright. The sun is going to come up tomorrow and we are all going to be fine. We are all going to go home and get a good night's sleep. The National Guard won't hurt us anymore. I won't let that happen."

Gavroche had quieted significantly and was now staring up Enjorlas.

"You promise?" he asked, his voice small.

"Yes, Gavroche," Enjorlas said, smiling down at the child, "I promise."


	2. Chapter 2

It had been two days since the attack on the barricade and the Amis were meeting again for the first time since the battle. Much had happened in the two days following the fight; Courfeyrac had taken Gavroche in to live with him and Marius at their flat. The National Guard had not bothered any of the students, a good sign. According to Courfeyrac, Gavroche was now having nightmares about the battle and the aftermath.

Now, they were all meeting in the cafe to discuss their next steps.

It was now about two hours into the meeting and Gavroche was getting restless. He had slept for an hour but now he was bored. Noticing the child's boredom, Enjorlas turned to the boy.

"Gavroche, would you do me a favor?" he asked.

"Sure!" Gavroche replied, his eyes brightening, "what do ya need?"

"I think I left my rifle in the back room," Enjorlas said, "would you go get it and bring it out here for me?"

"Ok!" Gavroche said, running off to do the errand.

"I could tell he was bored," Enjorlas said when Courfeyrac gave him a questioning look. "Now back to our plans-" he was cut off as a gunshot rang through the Cafè. All of the Amis jumped up and ran to the back room. Gavroche was laying on the ground and there was a small hole in the floor.

Courfeyrac ran over and turned the boy over so that he was laying on his back. Gavroche seemed unhurt, save for some small burns on his face from the sparks of the musket. However, the boy's whole body was trembling with harsh sobs.

Courfeyrac took the child in his arms and held him against his chest.

"I-i'm s-so-sorry," Gavroche sobbed, his breath hitching "I d-d-didn't mean to d-drop the g-gun."

"Shh mon petit," Courfeyrac said gently, "it's alright, I'm just glad you are unhurt."

Walking over, Enjorlas placed a hand on the back of the child's head, "it's alright, Gavroche," he said, "it was an accident. you didn't hurt anyone. it's all okay."

Knowing that Gavroche was not going to calm down amid all of this chaos, Courfeyrac made a decision. "I'm going to take Gavroche outside and try to calm him down," he said, turning to Enjorlas.

"That's a good idea," Enjorlas said, "we'll clean this up and then resume the meeting. Come back whenever you think Gavroche is calm."

"Alright," Courfeyrac responded, turning his attention to Gavroche, "we're just gonna go for a little walk, ok, Gavroche?"

Courfeyrac walked down the street, still holding Gavroche in his arms. The boy had calmed down significantly, but his fit had left him exhausted and seemed to just enjoy being carried.

Courfeyrac didn't mind, Gavroche was small for a twelve-year-old so it was easy to carry him. Also, growing up on the streets had never allowed Gavroche to behave like a young child. It was nice to see him feeling safe enough to regress a bit.

" 'you still awake?" Courfeyrac teased.

"yea," Gavroche nodded, rubbing his eyes, "just real tired."

"you can sleep," Courfeyrac said, rubbing hand down the boy's back.

Gavroche leaned his head against his guardian's shoulder and closed his eyes, falling into a peaceful sleep.


End file.
